Bruce Ely/The OregonianLaMarcus Aldridge was last seen in the Portland area at his clinic at ClubSport in Tualatin in August.

The five most interesting stories, rumors and notes in the NBA:

1. Back in action, sort of: Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge was back in action last night and at first glance you might figure he had a solid game -- 18 points and 7 for 12 field goal shooting in 29 minutes.

In addition to Durant and Aldridge, the game featured All-Stars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.

The Oklahoman reports that the game drew an estimated 13,000 -- just shy of a sellout -- to the Cox Convention Center. The newspaper adds that the crowd was the largest for a lockout exhibition by 8,200.

NBA arenas are contractually tied to their NBA teams, so Chesapeake Energy Arena (formerly known as the Oklahoma City Arena, and before that, the Ford Center) was not available.

According to the Oklahoman, there were a few no-shows -- Blake Griffin, Amare Stoudemire, Monta Ellis, John Wall and Kendrick Perkins were advertised, but didn't show. Rudy Gay arrived during the fourth quarter.

Players were introduced by their college teams (or high school, in James' case), with no mention of their NBA squads. As for the level of play, the Oklahoman wrote: "Several players didn't play at full-speed, which made Westbrook even faster."

The nicest thing: At halftime, Durant presented a check for $100,000 to Single Parents Support Network of Oklahoma City, a charity chaired by his mother.

Still, it was at least a taste of NBA basketball for fans in a city rabid for its team. Might we see something similar in Portland? Aldridge, on Twitter, has written about organizing such a game, and he tweeted yesterday:

"I'm working on it! Portland will have a game next month! Going have the date tomorrow."

He added he had gotten Durant and Jamal Crawford (who also played in OKC) to agree to play, then later amended the timeline for an announcement to "in the next few days." Aldridge also mentioned a reciprocal agreement to play in a game in Seattle for Crawford.

Obviously, the Rose Garden would not be available, and it's hard to believe Memorial Coliseum -- although owned by the city of Portland -- would be either as it is run by AEG on behalf of the Blazers.

That could make the Chiles Center at the University of Portland the logical site. In fact, Pilots coach Eric Reveno, via Twitter, offered to help Aldridge hold the game there.

Or maybe the owners and players could agree on a CBA and make all this moot.

[UPDATE: Aldridge tweeted this afternoon that his "charity game" will be held Nov. 6 -- a Sunday -- at 7:30 p.m. He said site and ticket info will be announced later this week.]

APA cut foot kept Blake Griffin from playing in OKC.

2. Missing the cut: The OKC game was originally billed as a battle between Durant and Griffin, the former Oklahoma Sooners star.

So what happened to Griffin? His agent tells the Los Angeles Times that Griffin cut his foot while swimming in the ocean, forcing him to pull out of the game.

The Oklahoman notes that T-shirts with the words "Durant vs. Griffin Showdown" still were sold at the game.3. Add exhibitions -- or not: Many of the NBA's biggest stars are supposed to start a whirlwind, global exhibition tour on Saturday, but the opening date could be in jeopardy.

4. Quiet time: After the tumult of last week's mediation sessions, the NBA labor landscape this morning feels like a deserted city in one of those Westerns -- you can practically seen the tumbleweeds blowing through the gulf between the owners and players union.

It seems like a good time to examine just how the NBA's next CBA will affect how teams gather their rosters. Chris Sheridan, on his website sheridanhoops.com, breaks down some of the systems issues the sides are arguing about, and his analysis offers a window into the tools general managers could have in forming rosters (I'd say Blazers GM so-and-so, but, well, you know the rest).

There will apparently be a loosening on trade restrictions, specifically on the requirement on matching salaries. The last CBA forced teams to stay with 125 percent of salaries in deals. Players, according to Sheridan, want the percentage increased to 225 percent, and owners have countered with 140 or 150 -- meaning either way, it will be easier to make trades.

Also notable is that the sides seem close to agreeing to limit the mid-level exception to $5 million a year, although Sheridan says there is disagreement on length of deals and raises. The Blazers, you'll recall, signed Wesley Matthews to a five-year, $34 million deal using a mid-level exception.

(You'd hope the sides would rename the exception, too, as it was named because the value was determined as a figure that would put a player in the exact middle of all NBA salaries.)

But the issue of most interest in Portland is surely the "stretch exception." Some are calling it an amnesty clause, but really, it's amnesty light. The clause would allow teams to waive a player, and while still paying him, stretch out the salary cap hit over a longer period of time. As Sheridan mentions, it could allow the Blazers -- if they want -- to waive Brandon Roy and stretch the $49 million he is owed over three years to seven on the the cap.

5. Allen wrench: If Paul Allen is the kind of guy who likes to Google himself, he would have seen all kinds of new hits this weekend. His appearance at Thursday's mediation session created that much stir, with Allen now seen as one of the hardest-line owners in the CBA talks.

The Oregonian's Allen Brettman advanced the story with an interview with deputy commissioner Adam Silver -- one that came with the precondition that it be with a business reporter, and not with one of the paper's Blazers beat reporters.

Columnist John Canzano expounds on Allen, noting that the Blazers owner, according to Silver, didn't say anything after he went into Thursday's negotiating session. Which raises the question: Why wouldn't he say anything? Doesn't he have millions of dollars at stake? Wouldn't most of us start arguing over $20?

One person definitely not remaining silent is a man who says he is a Rose Garden usher, and who in a blog offers a detailed breakdown of how much income the lockout is costing him. The usher seems to be taking a risk as AEG has issued a no-comment edict.